A senior Malaysian Buddhist monk has denied allegations that he was caught naked with a woman and in possession of pornography, weapons and alcohol, a report said today.

"Think carefully. Why would I want to embarrass myself? Even if I was naked in my chambers with the woman, wouldn't we both first put on our clothes before allowing people in to see us," monk Beng Ban told the Star daily.

Beng Ban was stripped of his position as chief monk at a temple in northern Perak state after police reportedly made the discovery when they entered his chambers last month to investigate allegations of criminal intimidation.

"The allegations are all wrong," the monk told the daily, saying that he had served at the temple for 27 years with an unblemished record.

No VCD player

He said the temple did not even have a VCD player that would have allowed him to watch the porno movies, but did not deny the charges of possessing weapons, including the traditional "keris" dagger, a machete and concealed blades.

"As for the weapons, most people own weapons. As long as we don't use them dangerously, they do not constitute criminal behaviour," he said.

Beng Ben's legal representative said that if the allegations were true the matter should be brought to court, but that so far the police had not pressed any charges.

Buddhist clergy keep a low profile in Malaysia, which is a predominantly Muslim nation. However, sex scandals are not uncommon among monks in neighbouring Thailand.